Scattering spectroscopy is an important means of identifying, monitoring and characterizing a variety of analyte species (i.e., analytes) ranging from relatively simple inorganic chemical compounds to complex biological molecules. Among the various types of scattering spectroscopy are methodologies that exploit Raman scattering and scattering due to fluorescence (e.g., fluorescence scattering) from an analyte. In general, scattering spectroscopy employs a signal to excite the analyte that, in turn, produces a response or scattered signal that is dependent on a characteristic (e.g., constituent elements of) the analyte. By detecting and analyzing the scattered signal (e.g., using spectral analysis), the analyte may be identified and even quantified, in some instances.
Unfortunately, the scattered signal may be very weak in many instances. For example, a response or scattered signal produced by Raman scattering may be many orders of magnitude smaller than the excitation signal used to elicit the production of the Raman scattering signal. As a result, detecting the scattered signal in the presence of the excitation signal may represent a significant challenge.
Certain embodiments of the present invention have other features that are one of in addition to and in lieu of the features illustrated in the above-referenced figures. These and other features of the invention are detailed below with reference to the preceding drawings.